Art, Archaeology, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Main menu

Tag Archives: Persian

Featured

The HIAA listserv has been abuzz with people seeking images of miniatures for the study of the Shahnameh and Persian MSS in general. The recommondations are listed below. There are a few I’m not sure how to categorize, but the rest fall under Shahnameh Projects, Museums, Libraries, and Subject guides.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Yorkhttp://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database
Instructions: A search under the category Islamic art brings up 12,350 items. Refining the search can be tricky “miniature” brings up 15 items “painting” brings up 313 items (most but not all from manuscripts) “manuscript” brings up 712 items (not all of them illuminated), “codices” brings up 1,169 items (most entries with scanned images of at least a few pages)

Bibliothèque nationale de France (B.n.F.) Mandragore, database of illuminated manuscripts of the B.n.F.http://mandragore.bnf.fr/jsp/rechercheExperte.jsp
Instructions: A search under country of origin (nom de pays): Iran turns up 185 manuscripts from Iran (incl. Arabic and Armenian MSS as well as
Persian), each one represented by multiple images of illuminated pages. It may be easier to navigate through the “Classement thematique” link. Search is by shelfmark or by keyword. For searching the database, keep in mind that French romanization differs from the Anglo-American usage:
Persian: French romanization: Chamseh
English romanization: Khamsa(h)
Clicking on the option “plein ecran” allows one to see full-screen versions of the images.